Mechanism for feeding skived shoe soles to a coating roll



Feb. 27, 1968 G. w. HEISELER 3,370,568

MECHANISM FOR FEEDING SKIVED SHOE SOIJES TO A COATING ROLL Filed Sept. 20, 1966 INVENTOR. GEORGE W HEISELER F G. 5 ATTORNEYS 3,37%,568 Patented Feb. 27, 1968 3,370,568 MECHANISM FOR FEEDING SKIVED SHOE SOLES TO A CQATING ROLL George W. Heiseler, Saugus, Mass, assignor to Boston Machine Works Company, Lynn, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 354,991, Mar. 26, 1964. This application Sept. 20, 1966, Ser. No.

6 Claims. (31. 118-246) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application is a continuation-impart of my cpending application Ser. No. 354,991, filed Mar. 26, 1964, for Coating Mechanism for Skived Shoe Soles, pursuant to which application U.S. Patent No. 3,288,106 was granted Nov. 29, 1966. The invention relates to means for feeding shoe soles to a coating roll in such a condition that they will reliably engage the coating roll in condition to receive from the roll a proper coating of the cementitious material brought up by the roll. More particularly the machine of which the coating roll is a part is designed to apply and distribute liquid cement on a face of an outsole for a ladys shoe having a spike heel, the outsole being made with a heel tab adapted to be cemented to the breast of the heel. A sole of this kind has a skived margin along the side edges usually about half an inch wide. The heel tab is skived over all its area so as to provide a thin surface layer for the breast of the heel. When cement is applied to a sole of this kind, it is important that the skived margins receive a heavy coating. It is an object of the present invention to condition any warped or twisted soles which may be among those fed to the machine, so that every sole will be properly coated.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof and to the drawing, of which FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of a coating roll and the mechanism for feeding shoe soles thereto;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the feed rolls shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the tunnel located between the feed rolls and the coating roll;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevation of the tunnel shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a shoe sole of the kind for which the machine is designed; and

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a spring steel plate shown in FIGURE 1.

The mechanism illustrated in FIGURE 1 comprises a pair of feed rolls 10, 12 with complemented profiles, a tunnel 14 on a table 16 over which is a plate 18 of spring metal deeply notched along its lower margin to form a series of spring fingers 26 the ends of which bear on the edge of the table 16 which overhangs a pool 22 of liquid cement and is closely adjacent to a coating roll 24.

Work pieces such as soles S for ladies shoes, are fed in succession to the rolls 10, 12 from in front of the machine. As indicated in FIGURE 2, the upper roll 10 tapers from near its ends to a minimum diameter at its mid point. The lower roll 12 tapers toward both ends from a maximum diameter at its mid point. One of the rolls, preferably the lower roll 12, is knurled. The rolls are power-driven by the usual means (not shown).

\Vhen a work piece passes through between the rolls 10, 12 it goes from the rolls through a tunnel 14 consisting of a thin base plate 30, end blocks 32, a top plate 34-, and clips 36 to hold the tunnel removably on the table 16. The forward edge 38 of the upper plate 34 forms an obtuse angle to fit against the upper roll 10 The tip of the plate at the apex 40 of the angle is slightly bent upward so that no work piece coming between the rolls can catch on it. The forward edge 42 forms a reentrant angle 44 to fit approximately against the lower roll 12, the corners 46 of the lower plate being slightly bent down to prevent any work piece from catching thereon. The upper plate 34 slopes downward toward the rear so that the clearance of its rear edge above the lower plate 39 is only slightly more than the thickness of the work pieces which are to go through the tunnel. Most outsoles for ladies shoes are sufiiciently soft and pliable to be pressed effectively by the spring fingers 20 into contact with the coating roll 24 in such a way that the skived margins M of the soles are well coated with liquid cement from the pool 22. However, there are apt to be some soles which are warped, curled or stiffer than usual. The rolls 10, 12 force these soles into a slight longitudinal arch shape, that is, convex upward. The tunnel serves to prevent any tendency on the part of a shoe sole to revert to a concave shape as it passes from the feed rolls 1t), 12 to the fingers 20. In practice the tunnel has proved to be a necessary adjunct to the fingers 20 in ensuring the proper coating of some work pieces which the fingers could not operate on successfully without the presence of the tunnel.

The end portions of the fingers 2t) bear on a bevelled edge 48 of the table 16 to deflect the work pieces down as they engage the upwardly moving surface of the coating roll 24. The roll deflects the work pieces up, the transverse bend of the work pieces at the tips of the fingers serving to bring the skived margins M into effective contact with the roll 24. Upon leaving the roll 24, the work pieces are deflected downward by an inclined fixed plate 52 so that they rub over a horizontal rod 54 resiliently supported by springs 56. The rod 54 wipes off surplus cement from the coated surface of each work piece, some of this excess moving onto the margins M to ensure adequate coating thereof.

I claim:

1. In a coating machine having a coating roll, a table in front of and adjacent to said roll, and a series of spring fingers bearing on the margin of said table next to said roll; means for feeding work pieces across said table to said roll, said means comprising a pair of feed rolls in front of said table and a tunnel between said rolls and the coating roll, said tunnel comprising an upper plate having a forward edge approximately fitting against said upper roll, and a lower plate having a forward edge approximately fitting against said lower roll, said plates converging toward the rear to form a narrow opening slightly wider than the thickness of a work piece.

2. Mechanism as claimed in claim 1, said tunnel being removably mounted on said table.

3. Mechanism as claimed in claim 2, said rolls having complemental profiles with varying diameters, the

maximum diameter of one roll and the minimum diameter of the other roll being at their mid points.

4. Mechanism as claimed in claim 3, the upper roll having its minimum diameter at its mid point, the lower roll having its maximum diameter at its mid point.

5. Mechanism as claimed in claim 4, the forward edge 7 of said upper plate of said tunnel having an obtuseangled tip which is slightly bent up.

' 6. Mechanism as claimed in claim 5, the forward edge of said lower plate of said tunnel making a reentrant angle, the forward corners of said lower plate being slightly bent down.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS V Wagner 118-70 Partch 118100 Cosgrove et al. 1187O Kilham 1 1844 Swift 118-'44 Wilckens 1 1844 10 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

R. 1. SMITH, Assistant Examiner. 

